WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?

[jdb1]

Well, I saw another Bollywood film this morning that I'd like to tell you about. Not everyone can sit through one of these, but I am really beginning to enjoy them, and seek them out whenever one is shown with subtitles on TV.

This one is called Singh is King. It's a big, roiling, tuneful and colorful mess of a movie, and I loved it. Action takes place in Punjab, Egypt and Australia. A simple (but very handsome) Punjabi Sikh villager is sent to bring back an expat who lives in Australia. This expat, called "King," is a sort of Punjabi Mafia don. Through many silly events, the villager, whose name is "Happy," has to take the don's place, and through his kind nature shows the criminal entourage that being nice is better than being a murderous extortionist. He gets the upper class girl in the end, and everyone dances.

What is most enjoyable about these movies is, first, the lavish production values, on a scale not seen since the heyday of the big Hollywood studios. They are always beautiful to look at. There's lots of music, and boy, do those songs seem dumb when the lyrics are translated with subtitles. My favorite in this one was a bhangra (Indian disco) called "He's Drunk, My Friend is Drunk." It plays muchbetter than it might sound from the title.

And, second, but most important, is the quality of the acting. These Bollywood actors are amazingly talented people. This was not always the case: in the first crop of these extravaganzas of the 1960s, most of the actors were either uncontrollably hammy or hyper (the men) or completely wooden (the women). Nowadays, there are performers who can not only act, but sing, dance and whatever else the plot calls for. Compared to our current group of young "stars," their Indian counterparts outshine them in every department, looks included.

You should give these a try. IFC is running a Bollywood film every Sunday morning at 10 AM Eastern time.

[charliechaplinfan]

We've just got a LCD television and I was itching to try it out with one of my movies, I was also after a lot of wholesome nostalgia so I put on The Quiet Man to bring back the memories of our holiday to Ireland 2 years ago. I must have seen this film about 10 times over the years, I just love it so much. I'd love to live in that world, with those colours and that beautiful landscape. I've heard it said that John Wayne wasn't much of a romatic leading man but he has no trouble in this film with Maureen O'Hara. I know now too that many of the actors in this were Ford's standard stock company. It's a sheer delight. Cong, the town where The Quiet Man was filmed is still full of stories of the filming to this day. John Wayne is their hero.

[charliechaplinfan]

I've just watched a feast of sumptuousness and colour called The Curse of the Golden Flower, Yhang Zimou,'s offering from 2006. I can't help but like this director's work, he makes a great use of colour in what ever kind of story he decides to tell. This was a rather sprawling tale about intrigue in the Imperial family, sprawling because I didn't feel there was enough threads to keep it together, or should I say it was lacking on character development and motivation. Too many questions I would have rather have known the answer to. It's only a little niggle, it's still a good offering from the man who brought us Hero and the House of the Flying Daggers to name a couple.

[charliechaplinfan]

I watched Panic In The Streets really late last night, mucher later than I should have been up but hey, nevermind. I'd imagined this to be a film noir, I don't know why, perhaos it's the title. The panic was a very different one to what I'd imagined. Still I found the story very quick moving, they way it is filmed is very reminiscient of On The Waterfront which is hardly surprising when Elia Kazan directed both.

It made me think of all this swine flu craziness that has been running in the news.

[feaito]

Last sunday I watched Fritz Lang's "Man Hunt" (1941) and I liked it, but somehow my expectations were bigger. Joan Bennett really blossomed in her Lang films; she's very fine as the streetwalker -although they tried to disguise it 'cuz the censors didn't want her character to be openly a prostitute- who falls for our heroic Walter Pidgeon -the man who tried to kill Hitler. The film has very good points and has some intense thrilling moments, but the scenes in the German forest seemed a little bit too obviously filmed on the backlot for me. John Carradine and George Sanders are very fine German villains. Heather Thatcher -playing Pidgeon's aristocratic sister-in-law- has a ver funny scene with Bennett. Quite a hoot! The print of the official DVD release is of excellent quality and the documentary included in it most enlightening.

[MichiganJ]

Okay, I've watched David Lynch's terrific film Inland Empire, twice.
Can anyone explain the rabbits?

[movieman1957]

I haven't seen it but with David Lynch I'm not sure anyone can.

[klondike]

Okay, I've watched David Lynch's terrific film Inland Empire, twice.
Can anyone explain the rabbits?

Back in '01, I rented a VHS of Lynch's Lost Highway, and watched it, start to finish, 3 times in two days (a little compulsively, I admit); eight years later, I'm still wondering whether Bill Pullman's character was escaping to arrive, or arriving to escape.
Hmmm . . . maybe if I watch it again next year, I'll figure it out, or finally be ready to stop wondering . . .
Or, maybe the answer has something to do with those rabbits . . .

[jdb1]

I mentioned this week on the "Coming Up on TCM" thread that we had a night of Sabu films, and that I had recorded one called The End of the River (1947), which was previously unknown to me. The film turned out to be quite a surprise, in that I was expecting it to be one of the dreadful Arabian Nights type throwaways that Sabu made in Hollywood later in his career. Instead, it turned out to be a Powell/Pressburger production about Brazil.

Unfortunately, the movie was not actually directed by Michael Powell, but by screenwriter and first-time director Derek Twist. That's too bad, because the film is something of a mess. The story concerns an indigenous Indian of the Amazon jungle who must leave his home, and make his way in the modern world. It is set in contemporary (1947 that is) Brazil, and Sabu plays a character of his actual age -- early 20s.

The entry for this film on IMDb describes it as "clumsy," and I think that is a good characterization. It seemed to me that what was aimed for was a kind of Candide-like tale of an innocent being exploited and abused, but the thing played out more like one of those static educational films about the quaint natives of the Third World that we were shown as kids. I don't think the fault lay with Sabu, who was very good at playing wide-eyed innocents. Rather, the plot was pretty convoluted, the editing choppy, and the rest of the cast much too drawing room British to effectively convey working class life in rural and small city Brazil.

Sabu is befriended by some who use him, and some who help him, but it was difficult to tell who was sincere and who was nefarious. The good guys seemed just as paternalistic and condescending as the bad guys. The young man has various jobs, learns to speak Portuguese, gets married, becomes a dock worker along the Amazon at Belem (plenty of opportunities for Sabby to take his shirt off), joins a union, has a fight during a labor dispute, kills his opponent, stands trial for manslaughter, and winds up happy with his wife, cultivating their garden. At any given point, I was never quite sure what was going on.


I wonder how well-received this film was in 1947, and if the public was prepared to see cute little Sabu kissing his wife and being the affectionate husband. (According to a TV interview I saw of his real-life wife, Marilyn, he was indeed a romantic husband.) And then there was that fight on the dock with the billhook. Not the Sabby we're used to seeing.

I would say that this film is worth seeing for the novelty of watching Sabu play a realistic, adult character. But as for cinematic excellence, we'd better look elsewhere.

[feaito]

I watched “Four’s a Crowd” (1938) –Thanks Ollie!- a screwballish comedy that made giggle and laugh quite a bit. It stars Errol Flynn, who plays a Public Relations Adviser who wants to get millionaire Dillingway (expertly played by Walter Connolly) as a client; enter his silly, dizzy granddaughter, played by Olivia De Havilland, of all people! Rosalind Russell portrays a shrewd newspaperwoman in a role that predates her Hildy Johnson and Patric Knowles plays Flynn’s ex-friend-nemesis, who owns the newspaper in which Russell works. Romantic entanglements, misunderstandings, deceit et al make this an enjoyable comedy. Although Miss De Havilland is billed first, Miss Russell walks out with the picture with her witty lines and deliveries, but it’s not Miss De Havilland’s fault, because they gave her the part of an unredeemed air-head. Errol Flynn demonstrates a fine flair for comedy here. Patric Knowles is also fine. Noteworthy performances by a gallery of seasoned character actors such as Herman Bing, Franklin Pangborn, Melville Cooper, Margaret Hamilton, Hugh Herbert et al add for laughs. Carole Landis and Gloria Blondell (sister of Joan) have small parts. A highly entertaining comedy.

[feaito]

Today my wife and I finished watching Mankiewicz's "Somewhere in the Night" (1946) whose plot is as confusing as Hawk's "The Big Sleep" (1946), but nevertheless engrossing. John Hodiak plays a WWII veteran with Amnesia, who returns to the States and tries to discover who he is...enter the beautiful Nancy Guild (how this wonderful actress, with such looks and a beautiful voice did not became a bigger star?), as a nightclub singer, who'll try to help him in his quest. Richard Conte plays Guild's boss, who also befriends Hodiak (and for once he did not annoy me). Lloyd Nolan is a friendly cop. The sultry, beautiful Margo Woode plays a woman of loose morals, to say it elegantly. What a woman! Another knockout! Josephine Hutchinson as an aging, spinterish woman, has one of the most touching scenes in the film. A very good Noir.

[jdb1]

Nando, we've talked at length on SSO recently about Somewhere in the Night , and I am in complete agreement with you: I was never very keen on John Hodiak until I saw this movie last week. In many ways, this may have been his greatest role, and it's too bad he didn't get more roles like it.

[feaito]

Thanks for the feedback Judith, I'm going to look for that thread.

[jdb1]

Thanks for the feedback Judith, I'm going to look for that thread.

Sorry, I should have also mentioned that it's on the "Classics Around the Dial" thread.

[feaito]

Thanks Judith!

I've just finished watching "Too Many Husbands" (1940). Wow! Sony-Columbia Classics did not disappoint me this time with the quality of the print, such a beautiful, pristine transfer! I wish they'd have done the same job with "The Awful Truth" (1937), one of the most uneven, bad prints I've ever seen from Columbia! And to think I paid almost 30 dollars for that DVD years ago...

Well, Too Many Husbands is a joy to behold. Great stars at their best! It might not be a genial, 10/10 film, but it's very, very good. Films with these plots couldn't be made today. These films require the beautiful B&W cinematography, those classy sets and above all, such charismatic performers which aren't around anymore. Melvyn Douglas, Fred MacMurray and Jean Arthur are the starring trio, with Miss Arthur trying to decide between supposedly deceased husband MacMurray and current husband Douglas. It's pretty clear throughout this film that she'd love to have an arrangement "a-la-Design for Living" -and I think that Harry Davenport playing Jean's dad fears that too!

The movie is much bolder than "My Favorite Wife" (1940) since Jean is not about to marry Melvyn, but has been already married to him for 6 months, so it's pretty obvious that she's been with both men "intimately speaking" and she can compare! And if she cannot make up her mind is because both men have their charms! I liked that premise and I found it totally bold by 1940s standards.

Dorothy Peterson's scene with Jean at the beginning of the film, in which she talks to her about her love for both of Jean's husbands is quite funny! And Melville Cooper as the butler and Edgar Buchanan as a policeman add for laughs. A treat!